CO129-515-7 Recruitment of Chinese labour for Sarawak 7-12-1928 - 8-4-1929 — Page 3

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:

The previous system in which the

labourer did not sign any contract until

:

he arrived in Sarawak, was held, as the

result of our discussions last year, to be

distinguishable from indentured labour and

therefore allowable. It was recognised that

in practice the labourer was not economically

free on arrival what ever his legal position

might be. As the 0.A.G. points out the

additional liability to refund a portion of his

passage money will not in practice be a very

serious additional restriction on the labourer's

nominal freedom. If, however, the labourer

acknowledges the debt before leaving Hong Yong,

he is, to a certain extent under contract, and

it may be more difficult to maintain the

distinction between this and fully fledged

indentured, labour.

It may be useful to compare this

proposed system with that obtaining in Malaya.

Chere,

Jigrants who have received advances are under

the special protection of the authorities, and

the amount for which they can be held liable

is limited as in Sarawak. If, however, an

indebted emigrant has obtained assistance by

promising to enter into the contract of

employment on his arrival, he may, at the

discretion of the protector, be sent back to

China at the expense of his creditor or released

from his obligations. This, of course, is very

different from the Sarawak system but we can

hardly expect the same standard in Sarawak as

in Malaya.

The